Government Begging

In Detroit, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has teamed up with the Michigan Women's Foundation and the Detroit Crime Commission in an attempt to raise $10 million in public and private money to pay for the testing of a backlog of rape kits and also pay for the investigation and prosecution of unsolved cases.

Would you consider the fact that the government has to ask for donations from private citizens to perform what I consider is their No. 1 job, as a failure of government?

They are estimating that it will cost approximately $2 million annually to fund this endeavor, and it will take about five years to get through the backlog.

In 2009, 11,341 rape kits where discovered by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office in a Detroit police property storage facility.

Also, it is not only in Detroit that this is happening — it is occurring all around the country. Nationally, an estimated 400,000 untested kits exist

In 2013, Michigan did set aside $4 million to test the remaining kits with the Michigan Attorney General's Office, allocating an additional $3 million over the next three years to fund the prosecution of the cases.

But Wayne County Prosecutors Kym Worthy says that more money is needed to fund more prosecutors and investigators. She stated that they need more money to hire 25 additional investigators and 10 additional prosecutors.

Please call me today on the Live with Renk show, which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.

Or please feel free to start a discussion and write your thoughts in the comment section.